


Chapters

by yetanotherramblingfangirl



Category: Downton Abbey
Genre: F/M, Fluff, I can't help myself, Prompt Fic, because fluff is what I do
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-29
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 16:55:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23370562
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yetanotherramblingfangirl/pseuds/yetanotherramblingfangirl
Summary: A collection of prompt fic.
Relationships: Phyllis Baxter/Joseph Molesley
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	1. Eavesdropping

Tobias Pragley was a small lad, the quiet type who carefully slipped past the notice of adults by never kicking up much of a fuss. He’d found in his short eleven years on this Earth that this usually suited him just fine. But occasionally his penchant for slipping by unnoticed did lead him into sticky situations. Which explained how he found himself trapped in the branches of an oak tree.

He hadn’t intended to spy on Mr. Molesley. He’d only wanted to sit and read the book Mr. Molesley had let him borrow that afternoon; and he’d wanted to read in his favorite spot, nestled among the leaves and branches. How could he know that Mr. Molesley and Miss Baxter would stop to sit on the bench beneath this particular tree?

It was quite the predicament.

“I always look forward to our afternoon walks, Miss Baxter,” Mr. Molesley said as they sat side-by-side on the bench.

“I do, too.” Miss Baxter stated this matter-of-factly. 

“You do?” His teacher’s surprise made Tobias smile.

“Does that surprise you, Mr. Molesley?” The gentle teasing in her voice reminded Tobias of the way his mother spoke to his father. He wasn’t sure what to think here, seeing as his parents had been married for ages and Mr. Molesley and Miss Baxter were most assuredly not married at all.

“To be honest, yes. But I’ll gladly take it.”

“We’re friends, are we not, Mr. Molesley?”

“Of course we are! You’re my best friend.”

“Then it should come as absolutely no shock to you that I enjoy your company and seek it out.”

“Fair enough, I suppose.”

Miss Baxter nudged him gently with her elbow. “You are someone worth knowing, Joseph Molesley. Don’t ever doubt that.”

Mr. Molesley was silent for a moment, his body turned toward her. “So are you.”

“Thank you for that. It means a lot to me to hear you say that.”

“Then I’ll just have to keep saying it, won’t I?”

Tobias couldn’t be sure, but he thought it looked as if they shifted closer to one another. From his vantage point he couldn’t tell how much space was between them and he daren’t risk moving to see. He would just have to continue to be curious. It wasn’t his place to be a busybody.

For a few minutes more, Mr. Molesley and Miss Baxter sat on the bench in silence. It was the comfortable kind, like the kind his parents enjoyed in the evenings after the washing up was done and his parents sat in the sitting room. Tobias barely dared to breathe.

But eventually the moment came to its natural conclusion. “I should be getting back,” Miss Baxter said, beginning to rise from her seat.

“Of course. They’ll be ringing the dressing gong soon,” Mr. Molesley said, his voice resigned.

“I wish I didn’t have to go,” she said, her own voice more subdued.

“One day you won’t have to.”

“Mr. Molesley–”

Mr. Molesley interrupted in much the same way he would when Tobias and his classmates were being too talkative during lessons: by quickly changing the subject. “I’ll see you again on Thursday?”

“You will.”

“I look forward to it.” The smile in his voice was evident.

And that’s when the most surprising thing of all happened: Miss Baxter leaned forward and kissed Mr. Molesley on the cheek. He couldn’t stifle his own small gasp at the sight of it. Clamping one hand over his mouth, he hoped neither of them noticed it.

“Until Thursday then,” Miss Baxter said before she headed down the gravel path leading toward the big house.

“Until Thursday!” Mr. Molesley called after her. 

He stood and watched her walk away until she’d rounded the bend and was no longer visible. Whistling, he walked away with a visible spring in his step. Tobias remembered the tune from their lesson on poetry earlier that day. Something about love being like a rose and the sea and sand. He didn’t much care for poetry, so the exact words escaped him.

Tobias waited until he could no longer hear his teacher whistling before scrambling down from his perch. Perhaps he’d have to ask his sister Maud about what he’d just seen meant. She was sixteen and therefore an expert in these matters. Or maybe he would just keep it to himself. He’d decide on the way home.


	2. Quarantined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A virtual lunch date. [Modern AU]

Phyllis smiled reflexively when Joseph’s slightly shocked face appeared on her computer screen. “Hello, Joseph.”

“Hello, Phyllis,” Joseph said in return, brow crinkling slightly in confusion. “Did we have a meeting scheduled? If I forgot ab--”

Phyllis blushed slightly and waved her hands in front of her to stop him. “No,no, no. We didn’t. I just wondered if you wanted to eat lunch with me this afternoon.”

Joseph’s brow crinkled even further. “What?”

Phyllis smiled softly at his confusion. He was a nice man and a fine colleague, Joseph Molesley, but not always quick to pick up her meaning. She supposed she could have been clearer. “I just thought it might be nice to have someone to chat with over lunch, even if we can’t be in the same place. If I’m interrupting something important, we can always try another day.”

“No!” Joseph said, grimacing by way of apology when he realized that he’d been a bit too loud. He cleared his throat slightly and looked sheepishly into the camera. “No, you aren’t interrupting anything. I think it’s a lovely idea.”

“Good. I’m just going to set up in my kitchen so I can prepare my lunch. Sorry if things go a bit wobbly for a minute.” She picked up her laptop, carefully holding it so that the camera was still focused on her face. It was only a few steps from her office set up in her sitting room to her kitchen. She set her computer on top of a stack of cookbooks. “There we are. Oh! Your kitchen is lovely, Joseph!”

The scene from her computer screen showed a neat and orderly kitchen with modern fittings. From the window she could see a neatly maintained garden. She couldn’t help but think it would be lovely to spend time there in the future. But that thought was most assuredly and hastily shoved aside for contemplation later.

“Thank you,” Joseph said, smiling at the compliment. “I redid it myself. You’d be amazed what you can learn to do through YouTube.”

“You did that yourself?!” Phyllis winced internally at how the question sounded. She quickly amended her question. “That’s incredibly impressive. I don’t know that I’d be able to do something like that.”

Joseph shrugged. “I enjoy learning new things. And the state of this place before...well, it was long overdue.”

“Well, you did an excellent job,” Phyllis said, moving about her own space to gather ingredients in an attempt to regain control over herself.

“Thank you.”

The silence that fell between them as they both set to making their lunch was neither strained nor comfortable. It just was. Phyllis glanced back toward her computer screen every few seconds, occasionally smiling when she caught Joseph doing the same thing. He was a very efficient cook from the look of things. “What are you preparing today?” she asked, putting on her best TV presenter voice.

Joseph smiled at the question. He continued to chop vegetables as he answered in his own TV-ready voice, “I’m making a quick pantry pasta. It’s all in the sauce, you know.”

“Ah. Sounds delicious.”

“What are you making, Phyllis?”

“Cheese on toast and a salad for me today.” She placed two slices of bread in the toaster and leaned against the counter with her arms crossed over her chest.

“A classic.”

She nodded with playful solemnity, struggling to contain her own smile.

Silence lapsed between them again. Phyllis went about preparing her lunch and finally settled at the counter to wait for Joseph. She was just sprinkling Worcester sauce over her toast when Joseph settled at his own countertop with a plate of steaming pasta.

“That looks delicious,” Phyllis said as she screwed the cap back onto the bottle of Worcester sauce. “I’m jealous.”

“Oh, well, when this is all over I’ll have to make you some,” Joseph said as he shaved Parmesan cheese over the top of his pasta.

Phyllis looked up from her plate, pausing with her toast halfway to her mouth. Joseph’s gaze was fixed resolutely on the Parmesan block in his hand. She watched him for a moment before saying, “I will hold you to that.”

“Good.”

“Indeed.”


End file.
